Locking someone on the bridge of your ship seems like a foolish thing to do, but then again Eldorado did just put Atahualpa on the council. The screen here is odd. It looks like there are three usable items here, but there are actually only one. The throttle lever on the right. Not that turning it does anything. Despite more interesting stuff, you turn in a complete 180.
There's an airlock, locked, and this control panel. I can interact with anything, until I put in a code, and I don't know the code, so I just put it in randomly. Kelt calls Atahualpa telling him he's screwed up and lit the base up like a Christmas tree. (An Incan Christmas tree?) He deactivates the security system so we can fight back, but the only thing I can interact with is broken, literally, in-game, the turret is busted. I try a bunch of stuff, but the door is unlocked now.
Vodka? Wait, am I on Kelt's ship? I mean, I guess this is only confusing because I played the prequel...which I was likely to do. You can't pick it up, the game just says "Oh, no, Atahualpa." It turns out I needed a crowbar to open it. There's enough spirits here to perk up the spirits of a whole army battalion. I then use it on a nearby hose, which allows turning up the throttle to heat up the turret.
Combat. It's basically a turret section. I say basically because the only difference between this and the regular space sections is that I'm slower turning around and don't move. It's really, really boring. Really, really boring. It takes FOREVER to swing the damn thing around. FMVs break up the battles, more ships coming my way. The last one is interesting, because it's just one ship constantly swinging around and I fail to hit it. Shocking, I know, without a crosshair or anything to base it against. Atahualpa supposedly dies. A cutscene happens in which Eldorado's actor does a poor job of acting while attempting to be sad for his son's death, and then Kelt goes off in a tail spin.
I actually get to continue. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but I'm curious to see where this goes. Am I going to see a campaign where my actions matter? That would be pretty cool, even if there's not a lot that could be interesting with this game. This is where the grappling hook is required, though it comes off as pretty lame.
Kelt enters the Tumi with Eldorado, and takes over the controls. I, being Eldorado now, get to navigate. I feel a lot better being the gunner, but this is fun. Follow Kelt's directions to put down directional markers. Less graphic adventure and more children's game but amusing. Even though it had be do it twice for no apparent reason. This is apparently on Earth, since I see Australia.
We get a neat cutscene of us traveling through a valley, but crash before we can reach our destination and have to travel the rest of the way on foot. This is a cutscene, because designing gameplay around two days of blazing hot weather is probably not fun. Narrated, by the guy who narrated the items in Jagged Alliance for some reason.
There the duo meet with one of Kelt's friends, a scientist who observes the stars named Yuna. Eldorado tells Yuna about the asteroid and how Aguirre intends to take over the world with it. This leads to an easy puzzle in which I have to move a dot on three poles. We're doing this to find the asteroid's weakpoints, as it's in a rapid evolution phase in which it gathers energy for Aguirre's purpose. To destroy the asteroid we need to lay down "great energy" at three planets which we'll know about in two weeks.
She has her computer, looking suspiciously like something out of Galactic Empire, and then Kelt and Eldorado talk about getting the Tumi working. Oh, Yuna just happens to have a rail engine around. What is this, Atlas Shrugged? This is another adventure section, firstly, there's another crowbar. I'm starting to get the feeling they were running out of ideas here. I use that to get a lever off the tower.
Next, I enter the engine room. This is another rousing game of find the object, then the use will become rapidly clear. There's a peg in the forward/reverse controls, and a leather strap. An ignition controls the fire, but something is missing, and that valve turns, but it's purpose is a mystery. I go back out, realizing that I wasn't just supposed to take out the lever, but use the oil on the nearby and somewhat hidden pulley, then use the lever to pour in water.
This is enough to activate the train for reasons that escape me as someone who doesn't understand trains. We get a neat cutscene and then, uh oh, they're under attack. They say to flee, but Eldorado does...nothing but stand at the front.
Another action sequence. You know, maybe if they spent less time designing HUDs and more time designing other things we wouldn't have had to use a crowbar with two separate characters in two separate situations. It's another turret sequence and it runs too fast in DOSbox. I had to slow it down. I'd complain about it, but considering I half-assed it and still somehow won, I'm not going to beyond it being pointless.
We've driven them off, but they'll return, hey, a cave, we'll be safe in there. Yuna says she longed to explore this, and Eldorado for some reason says that gold prospectors are squatting here. They should split up. Suckers. As I write this and see the next save, the sound has gone mental and just has a loud squarewave for some reason.
Ah...this is finally a reasonable adventure section rather than one that seems like it was put in because you expect Coktel Vision to put in an adventure section. There's a drawer I can't open, rope around it, a safe I can't interact with, and a chest with a half dozen things in it. A shaver, some ballasted thread, a mallet, an old key behind the thread, and mercury in a wine bottle for some reason.
So cut and get the rope with the knife, use the key, only its rusted, good thing I have the oil...oh, I can't use items on other items. Huh. Turns out there's a sand item I have to use. This reveals a file, which is a blueprint for a ship, and the code, 183. Okay, cool, except...I can't use the safe. Oh, that's what the mercury is for...for some reason.
Inside is a device that shows the ship, called the Boomerang, which Eldorado calls slightly archaic. Kelt says he can build it in two weeks, while they repair the Tumi. Two weeks later, Yuna has the location of the planets. The rough location, because we waited all this time for imprecision. Eldorado wants Kelt to give a letter to the council, telling them that Eldorado is appointing Kelt as leader of his armys, so he can build many Boomerangs.
I get a screen in which I'm only allowed to flip a switch. Then I put a crystal in a slot and select point A or point B. I question the purpose of this, then another space combat. Eldorado briefly mourns his son again. I get the intention, but the voice actor for Eldorado is given absolutely terrible voice direction. Anyway, this fight is against the guy who killed Atahualpa. I end up using some missiles, but the fight's still not very troublesome.
His ship is only damaged and he flies off. THEN I GET A CHOICE. Ohohoho, the story does branch off. Do I go after him and weaken Aguirre's armies or do I go after the points and speed up the destruction of the asteroid? I decide it's probably best to weaken the armies first, saves me a nasty fight later in the game.
It's still a nasty fight, because the game promises a great horde of ships from three stations, which require me to use the heavy weapons. Specifically the torpedoes. I think. The game proves to be very troublesome in this regard, because I don't know how close I have to be, and naturally I am surrounded by enemy ships.
This is where the game proves to be difficult to play as a space simulation, for the simple fact that it is poor at doing so. When faced with serious, unending opposition I have no real tactical ability to fight back short of turning and hoping I can safely turn fast enough. Which doesn't work. My tactic in Red Baron of doing this while playing with speed to get better turning arcs doesn't work here, because I cannot control anything beyond my ability to turn, shoot and aim. So the strategy isn't anything wise, it's go berserk and hope that my supply of weapons will replenish the next time I need it. I don't win because of my skill, I win simply because I got lucky.
Anyway, this takes me to an adventure section, a nice looking adventure section. This is honestly a kind of pointless one beyond just the awesomeness of the graphics. You click a few things, things happen, and then you're in another place, not even a puzzle, I'm just along for the ride.
Then we get a "puzzle". Because I don't understand it at all. You get an oyster, crack it on the rock and then throw it at the Ibis, the bird. I guess we're going to the bird's nest? This brings down an ape, which I then repeat who then scares off the bird. This reveals a jade egg and then the Jagged Alliance narrator says "Don't be in a hurry, Eldorado." It turns out I wasn't cracking open the oysters, because I have to use the mallet, revealing a magic pearl. Still can't take the jade egg.
It turns out I have to put the pearl in the egg, which then reveals a demon. So much for this game being the normal sequel. Seriously, this is something out of Dark Seed or a game going for Satanic vibes, not the charming trip through Incan space. He then says the trip through the forest is treacherous, but with the egg and the pearl I can safely go through and back. He also says if I come back without it, he'll take my soul.
We then meet a native of this world, who told me he foresaw my coming in the magic smoke. He'll help me, but I need to give the crocodile what the demon stole from him. Well, there are only two things I can interact with, the crocodile's eyes, so it isn't much of a shock that I need to use the egg and the pearl. This satisfies the native, and he takes Eldorado into a trance to find the spot he needs to use his power. Which is where I shall leave for the time being.
While this isn't bad, blogging about it feels like blogging about a movie, you're stopping so much just keeping up that actually enjoying it feels difficult. This game is really committing to being an interactive movie, but at the same time the player is not really allowed to fail. I really don't know what to think about this.
This Session: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
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